Northrop Grumman (NOC) Competitors

Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) are both large-cap multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, dividends and risk.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer HON or NOC?

Honeywell International received 535 more outperform votes than Northrop Grumman when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 75.58% of users gave Honeywell International an outperform vote while only 62.33% of users gave Northrop Grumman an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Honeywell International	Outperform Votes 1182 75.58%	Underperform Votes 382 24.42%
Northrop Grumman	Outperform Votes 647 62.33%	Underperform Votes 391 37.67%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in HON or NOC?

75.9% of Honeywell International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.4% of Northrop Grumman shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Honeywell International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Northrop Grumman shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk and volatility, HON or NOC?

Honeywell International has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northrop Grumman has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HON or NOC more profitable?

Honeywell International has a net margin of 15.52% compared to Honeywell International's net margin of 5.38%. Northrop Grumman's return on equity of 35.88% beat Honeywell International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Honeywell International	15.52%	35.88%	9.89%
Northrop Grumman	5.38%	24.09%	7.88%

Does the media refer more to HON or NOC?

In the previous week, Honeywell International had 12 more articles in the media than Northrop Grumman. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for Honeywell International and 10 mentions for Northrop Grumman. Honeywell International's average media sentiment score of 0.76 beat Northrop Grumman's score of 0.55 indicating that Northrop Grumman is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Honeywell International	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Northrop Grumman	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend HON or NOC?

Honeywell International currently has a consensus price target of $220.38, suggesting a potential upside of 5.72%. Northrop Grumman has a consensus price target of $514.33, suggesting a potential upside of 15.64%. Given Honeywell International's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Northrop Grumman is more favorable than Honeywell International.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Honeywell International	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
Northrop Grumman	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.27

Is HON or NOC a better dividend stock?

Honeywell International pays an annual dividend of $4.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Northrop Grumman pays an annual dividend of $8.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Honeywell International pays out 50.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northrop Grumman pays out 57.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Honeywell International has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Northrop Grumman has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Honeywell International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has better earnings and valuation, HON or NOC?

Honeywell International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Northrop Grumman. Honeywell International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northrop Grumman, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Honeywell International	$36.66B	3.70	$5.66B	$8.63	24.15
Northrop Grumman	$39.29B	1.68	$2.06B	$14.30	31.10

Summary

Honeywell International beats Northrop Grumman on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.